


We Can't / But I Want To

by History_Nerd



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bittersweet Ending, Coran is a cool guy, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Korean Keith (Voltron), Lance and Keith are mercs for hire, M/M, Mercenaries, RIP, but i still thought it was bueno, helped me pass my english class for my last year of high school, it had to be no more than seven pages, klangst, this was a school assignment lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-04 22:49:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11564961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/History_Nerd/pseuds/History_Nerd
Summary: The Red Sphinx and the Blue Lion don't get along, but when the Boss hires them to take on a job together, there is more that meets the eye.There's no character death, but it's not a happy ending.





	We Can't / But I Want To

**Author's Note:**

> In my AP Lit class in senior year we had to write a story with certain elements that was 3-7 pages long. I decided to write a fanfiction, but in order for that to happen some stuff had to change. If for some reason you see the name "Klein" in here, that's Keith and I'll change it. If you see the name "Landon" in here, that's Lance and tell me so I can change it. There were some symbolism I had to cover, so that's why Keith's alias is what it is.  
> I really hope you enjoy this, and if you have any questions on this story then feel free to ask!

Keith fixed his mythril knife on his belt, frowning when he looked at the time. Staying out as late as he did was a huge mistake, considering that he was going to be late to a new job deal. Money had been tight lately, what, with having to compete with the Blue Lion. He was an infuriating guy not from around here; evident from his caramel skin and his accented English. For some reason the Blue Lion made it his mission to get on Keith’s last nerve. Whether it was by bragging about a particularly good job he got or asking him unnecessary questions.

_ “Red Sphinx, look at what I get to do! And look, the reward is a couple thousand credits. Jealous?” _

_ “Hey, why ‘Red Sphinx’? I don’t understand the significance.” _

_ “Red, buddy! Wanna see who can make more by the end of the week?” _

In short, the lanky man was really starting to get on his last nerve. The goal was to stay away from him at all costs. Sighing, Keith put on his long coat and headed out of the door of his small and barren apartment.

-

Lance had arrived right on time and continued to chat with his possible employer. He was an older ginger haired man with a handlebar mustache. Coran, was his name, and just like him, he definitely didn’t come from around here. Coran’s accent was either Australian or from New Zealand, and in Lance’s opinion, more entertaining than his own Spanish one. Where it was music to his ears to hear an r rolled or the ups and downs of his voice, the higher and clipped notes of Coran’s were a nice change.

“I was in the middle of the desert with only one canteen of water - oh! Hello, Red Sphinx. I’m glad you made it.”

Lance whipped around and there he was - the lithe, pale figure with black hair. This was not what he was expecting, and by the look on the Red Sphinx’s face, he was not either. The two narrowed eyes. “Hey there, mullet.”

The Red Sphinx bristled. “What the hell are  _ you _ doing here, Blue Kitty?”

Coran slammed his hands on the table and frowned at the two young men in front of him. “I need you two to do a job, and only you guys can complete it.” His upper lip twitched when the two groaned in unison.

-

Keith groaned as he easily took down Blue Lion again in their hand to hand combat training. They had been practicing for the last two days as they formulated their plans to take down Theodore; a Big Boss who ended up screwing over Coran and the other Minor Bosses. Since Blue was the best sharpshooter around and Keith was amazing with blades and hand to hand, Coran decided that the two should work together. It was a rocky couple of days, but they were managing.

“I don’t understand,” Blue said, getting up with his shoulders sagging in defeat. “Why I have to learn this when I can stay back and shoot.”

“For the last time, you can’t rely on a gun all the time! Theodore is a Big Boss, so he’s going to have a bunch of guards at his house. In case we miss some-”

“Which I won’t.”

“ _ Then _ you need to be prepared when you can’t use your fancy guns,” Keith finished, crossing his arms and glaring at the other. His grey eyes landed on blue ones, waiting for the other to crack in this silent showdown.

Finally Blue Lion huffed in defeat, but the usual argument didn’t occur. Instead, he smiled slightly and put his hands back in the ready position. “Alright. Ready to go again?”

Keith smiled and threw a punch in response.

-

There was something about each other that the two couldn’t ignore. They worked well together, to say the least. They knew how the other worked which was strange, considering that it had only been a week. Something that Lance definitely couldn’t deny, however, was his feelings for the Red Sphinx .

At first it was just physical attraction, to which Lance would argue with:  _ ‘What? The ebony and ivory contrast is attractive!’  _ But then he realized just how  _ funny  _ he was. It was all dry humor and witty comebacks, but it left him feeling giddy and wanting to inflict more of that. Before he knew it, Lance wanted  _ more _ .

By the way the Red Sphinx acted it seemed like he was interested too. The touches lingered, his smile was more fond, and Lance swore up and down that the gaze he caught the other with multiple times was filled with adoration.

In short: Lance was screwed because craving something romantic as a merc for hire was never wise.

-

Keith did not know how to handle this. One moment he was trying to gain information from someone to help with the job at hand, but then the next thing he knew he was admiring and practically drooling at the Blue Lion’s sweet talk. It was messing with his head in the most uncomfortable of ways.

Romance was never something he was invested in. His line of work always required complete focus. Sure, he had plenty of flings (whether for personal enjoyment or for a job) but Keith did not want just a one night stand with Blue. He seemed special, somehow. If the two were in a different world, perhaps, Keith and Blue could have something more meaningful instead of getting hired to kill Theodore.

However, in reality, Keith should dislike the Blue Lion. He could be cold and ferocious as his name. Unfortunately they had to dispose of some people who knew too much. The man did not hesitate, but rather shrugged and pulled the trigger. There was only slight hesitation, but not enough to appease Keith.

He had been in this job for almost thirteen years (which was longer than the Blue Lion) and he still hesitated on hurting someone. Granet, he often had an inner battle with his morals and the greater good, but he just could not shake the feeling that something happened to Blue before he came here for him to kill so easily.

Frowning, he shook his head slightly as he came out from the bathroom, sitting on the couch next to Blue. They would keep it in check.

Hopefully.

-

It was the night before they were supposed to finish the job. They had obtained all of the information they could and managed to clear and clarify everything with Coran before going off on their own. Keith was expecting Blue to leave and go off on his own, however he decided that staying at Keith’s place was more desirable. In all honesty it touched his heart.

The two were on the bed they had recently begun to share, leaning against each other with their hands brushing. It was quiet but comfortable. Keith was about to fall asleep but Blue’s hand held his in a firm grip. He raised his head from the Blue Lion, eyebrows knitting in curiosity.

“I want to tell you something, Red,” he whispered, blue eyes meeting his. Keith loved that color, a cross between the sea and sky. It was breathtaking every time.

He nodded slightly, squeezing his hand as a silent way of telling him to go on. Blue took a deep breath and nodded back. “You don’t have to tell me, but I really want to tell you,” he turned towards Keith, a giddy grin on his face. “My real name is Lance McClain. If anyone around here has to know, then I want it to be you.”

This was an ultimate level of trust between people. Real names could get information that is better left behind. This was sending adrenaline through his veins and before he knew it he was saying his name back. “Keith Kogane. My name is Keith Kogane.” As an afterthought he chuckled and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Lance McClain.”

Lance smiled and pulled Keith close. “Right back at you, Keith Kogane,” he whispered before kissing him.

-

The sniper lowered before Lance took a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure that’s the last of them.”

Keith only nodded before grabbing his mythril knife and making his way towards the mansion. Lance followed, keeping quiet just in case their numbers and positions on security were off. It was simple now considering that they knew everything. Lance just could not shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. He continued though, accepting Keith’s hand for a couple of seconds before they had to be off and use their weapons.

-

“Red!” He yelled, trying to just  _ throw off this guy _ to get to him because holy shit Theodore was right behind him and was about to strike and Keith did not see that and he could not let this happen, definitely not now.

Keith managed to duck in just enough time, stabbing the security guy in the process. The wound definitely was not fatal, but enough that after some time he would die. Knowing Keith that was going to bother him.

Lance managed to get the guy off of him - permanently - before turning around and shooting Theodore in the shoulder. Using the distraction, Keith managed to land a fatal blow in his neck, hands shaking but grey eyes as cold as ever. There was no passion for the right cause in his eyes.

-

“There you go, lads, all of your credits are in these bags.” Coran was more than thrilled with the outcome, and even gave the two young men extra money for their hard work and thorough investigating.

They smiled and grabbed them, heading out of the building to the back alley. It had been quiet between the two, ever since after the mission and Keith had cried. He had felt weak then and for multiple reasons. He had realized that this  _ thing  _ with Lance was not going to work out. Their jobs were too risky for this.

“Lance,” he said, stopping on their way to wherever.

That smile killed him because  _ he did not deserve that _ . “What’s up, pretty boy?”

He could feel his throat closing up, the feeling similar to suffocating. It had never been this hard telling someone to get lost. But those other times Keith had never cared. His silence was probably telling (or the fact that his eyes were watering) because Lance took a step forward and placed a hand on his cheek.

“Keith, babe, please.” He sounded so desperate and scared and it was all Keith’s fault.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he gently placed his hand atop Lance’s, feeling the callouses. “We can’t.”

Lance’s blue eyes began to fog over. “But I want to.”

“ _ Fuck _ , Lance, I know and I do too,  _ I really do _ . But this job is merciless to people and their significant others. I can’t risk losing you.”

“But at least we’d have each other! We could take separate jobs and keep our relationship on the downlow. Baby, I want this. I’ve never wanted something like this with anyone else.”

“I’m so sorry,” he sobbed, his grip on Lance’s - no,  _ the Blue Lion’s _ \- hand almost painful for both people. Lance hiccuped, tears pouring over onto his cheeks.

“Please don’t do this,” he rasped, voice breaking and his free hand going to Keith’s waist. He was trying to keep him here because Lance could not imagine him leaving. Not like this. Anything like this. If Keith were to die then that would be easier to get over than this heart shattering  _ agony _ .

Keith was breaking, and he almost said screw it all to hell because he  _ wanted  _ Blue in every way possible but he could not. Under different circumstances, though, definitely.

With a deep breath, he moved away. “I’ll see you around, Blue Lion.”


End file.
